The former Aston Villa midfielder struggled for game time last year and has again found it difficult under Pep Guardiola . Even when the England international has steered clear of injuries, the manager rarely saw fit to include him in the team; of Delph's five starts, just two have come in the Premier League.

He last appeared in a matchday squad at Wembley when he came on in the extra-time defeat to Arsenal, and the City manager confirmed that he injured his leg in training shortly after that and is not expected to feature in either of the two remaining games.

There was better news for the coach in that John Stones is back. The defender has not been seen in Blue for over a month but returned to training last week and could make a return to the matchday squad.

That may not be enough to dislodge Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi though, who have started the last six games together and kept three clean sheets.